The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1887-09-28

few weeds or punches of grass to remain
in among the vines, but not at the base,
as the runners would throw out tendrils,
connect with the weeds and fasten them
selves securely in place.
Tomato vines will endure quite an
amount of cutting and trimming, and
often renew themselves when nearly
dead. If the branches be too thick it
will be of advantage to cut some of them
out from few vines where a limited
amount of early fruit shall be desired.
Immediately after rain, or as soon as
the ground will permit, is the proper
time to cultivate the soil, as the grass will
then be more easily destroyed by the SUMS
rays when thrown up, while the stirring
of the soil for few inches will prevent
loss of moisture after dry weather shall
again set in.
Insects must not be forgotten. Tack
pieces of old carpet, bagging or other
coarse fabric around the trunks of apple
trees. Remove them every ten days and
crush the larva or cocoons of the "applc
worm which have hidden under them.
Look for the borer in the peach trees and
with knife and wire cut and probe it
out.
Ducks eggs are well adapted to hatch
ing in the incubator, as there is but little
trouble from infertile eggs. They will
stand greater variations of temperature,
especially bearing lower temperature very
well, and the young ducks are easy to
raise by hand, often doing much better
so than when allowed to run with a hen
or with the old duck.
When orchard trees are limbed high
there is little risk in giving hogs the run
of the orchard, as they viii rarely attack
the trees unless starved to it. An ex-
pericnd writer in a Southern paper saws:
Il deem it best to keep hogs or pigs in
the orchard the whole year, except at
gathering time. They keep down the
rampant growth of weeds, being total
destroyers of wild carrots and wild pars-
nip, the root of which is very poisonous
TO cows, but hogs are very fond of it.
They also rid the orchard of rabbits,
snakes and ground hogs (woodchucks),
and finally, what better way can you find
TO distribute their manure"
In some localities the black smut in
corn is often the cause of serious loss. 1t
is worst on land where this crop has been
planted several years in succession, show
ing that the germs live over winter in the
soil where they fall. 1t is fungus hard
to get rid of where it has a foothold.
The ears or stalks affected will be found
early bursting with sap, and as the spores
have not yet ripened so as to become
easily detached, these diseased specimens
may be removed without much danger of
spreading the infection. Later in the
season the fungus bursts, and its black
dust is scattered by winds, when it gets
on the stalks and into the manure pile.
The deutzia ought 10 be one of the
best known of all shrubs, but there are
many localities where it is wholly un-
known. 1t has great many points Of
merit, and not one objection can be
brought up against it. 1t grows WELL
blooms with the greatest profusion, is
perfectly hardy, and is so beautiful that
whoever sees it will be sure to want to
plant it. The best known variety is d.
gracillis, with single flowers of the purest
white, borne in clusters of twenty to fifty
at the extremity of each branch, and
each main branch has a score of lesser
branches. The effect of large speci-
men of this shrub when in full bloom,
SlduNlluS DN llSCll on luc lawn, can DC
imagined much better than it can be
described. d. crenata fore pleno has
double white flowers, and is very beauti-
fu, but the single variety, spoken Of
above, is the finest. This is an excel
lent shrub for cemetery use.
Plant lice on outside vegetation pass
the winter as little dark, oblong eggs,
usually fastened to the buds. With the
warm days of spring these eggs hatch,
and so rapidly do the lice increase that
soon they are counted by millions.
Another characteristic feature of plant
lice is their sudden disappearance. This
welcome riddance is due, Professor A. j.
Cook, entomologist of the Michigan
Agricultural College, states, to insect
enemies of the plant lice A remedy
suggested by Professor Cook, in a recent
bulletin issued, is kerosene and soap
mixture. To make this he uses one
fourth pound of hard soap, preferably
whale oil soap, and one quart of water.
This is heated until the soap is dissolved,
when one pint of kerosene oil is added
and the whole agitdted till a permanent
emulsion or mixture is formed. The
agitation is easily secured by use of
force pump, pumping the liquid with
force back into the vessel holding it. He
then adds water so that there shall be
kerosene in the proportion of one to
fifteen.